"Who are you?"
King Nereus stared at Daniel, unable to take his eyes off the devastation left behind by a single casual motion.
"Where did someone like you even come from?"
Daniel smiled.
"Daniel Haken. Nice to meet you."
He was about to say something else when his expression suddenly stiffened.
A familiar energy signature erupted somewhere across the planet.
The third Mother Box.
His head snapped toward the surface.
"…Fuck."
Without another word, Daniel shot upward through the ocean, his departure creating a massive shockwave that scattered the surrounding water.
***
Deep beneath Gotham, inside an underground S.T.A.R. Labs facility, terrified researchers were forced to their knees while Parademons surrounded them from every direction.
Standing before them, Steppenwolf rested his massive electro-axe across one shoulder.
The Mother Box was close.
He could feel it.
His glowing eyes swept over the frightened scientists.
"Tell me where the Mother Box is."
Silence answered him.
Steppenwolf slowly lifted his axe.
"Then your lives have served their purpose."
The researchers instinctively shut their eyes as the weapon descended.
Before it could reach them—
Clang!
The axe struck something solid.
Instead of flesh, it had landed on someone's shoulder.
Steppenwolf's eyes narrowed.
Daniel stood between him and the researchers as though he had always been there. The enormous weapon rested against his shoulder without leaving so much as a scratch.
He glanced at the axe before raising an eyebrow.
"That's a nice axe."
Steppenwolf immediately poured more strength into the swing.
The axe refused to move.
Daniel looked up with a grin.
"Surprised, motherfucker?"
His fist shot forward.
Boom!
The punch landed squarely on Steppenwolf's face.
The New God flew across the chamber, smashing through multiple concrete pillars before crashing into the far wall with enough force to send dust and debris rolling through the laboratory.
Every nearby Parademon shrieked.
Without waiting for orders, they charged.
Daniel casually cracked his neck.
"Yeah… I'm not trapped in here with you."
A grin spread across his face.
"You're trapped in here with me."
The first Parademon lunged with both claws aimed at his throat.
Daniel stepped aside, caught its arm, and redirected its momentum into two others flying in behind it before driving a punch through its chest. The creature shot backward, smashing straight through a concrete pillar.
Another swooped down with its blaster already firing.
Daniel caught it by the ankle before it could react, spun once, and hurled it into another attacker. Both crashed through laboratory equipment before slamming into the far wall.
More Parademons poured into the chamber.
Daniel glanced toward a shadowed corner.
"Victor."
Victor froze.
He hadn't revealed himself.
Daniel wasn't even looking in his direction.
"Get everyone out."
Victor hesitated for only a heartbeat before running toward the researchers.
"Move! Everyone!"
The scientists didn't need to be told twice.
They rushed after him toward the emergency exit.
Steppenwolf watched them leave but made no attempt to stop them.
His attention never left Daniel.
With a powerful leap, he soared high into the air, gripped the electro-axe with both hands, and brought it down with the full force of his body.
Daniel didn't move.
The axe slammed into his shoulder.
A violent shockwave tore through the laboratory.
The concrete beneath Daniel fractured in every direction while nearby equipment was hurled across the room.
Before the dust could settle, the surrounding Parademons unleashed a barrage of energy blasts.
Dozens of explosions engulfed Daniel's position, burying him beneath smoke, broken concrete, and twisted metal.
While escorting the researchers toward safety, Victor glanced back.
He had already seen Steppenwolf carve through reinforced structures as though they were made of paper.
Now an entire army of Parademons had added continuous suppressive fire on top of that.
Looking at the chain of explosions consuming the laboratory, surviving seemed impossible.
Then a familiar voice drifted out of the smoke.
"Yeah, Bruce... I'm kind of busy right now."
Victor blinked.
Daniel stood in the middle of the destruction with a phone pressed against his ear as though nothing unusual had happened.
"I'll call you back."
He slipped the phone into his pocket.
Steppenwolf narrowed his eyes.
Daniel rolled his shoulders.
"Now…"
"Let's try speed."
The Mark of Nexus activated.
Everything slowed.
Energy bolts crawled forward almost imperceptibly.
Daniel moved.
To everyone else, he vanished.
He tore through the swarm before a single Parademon could react. Heads separated from bodies, limbs scattered across the laboratory, and several creatures simply exploded under the force of his strikes while the survivors were still in the middle of pulling their triggers.
Within moments, Daniel had already crossed the room.
His fist shot toward Steppenwolf.
Before it connected, a brilliant beam erupted from behind him.
The energy struck Daniel square in the chest.
The impact hurled him backward, smashing him into a reinforced wall hard enough to fill it with cracks.
Steppenwolf lowered his axe.
"I have no business with you."
"The Mother calls."
A Boom Tube opened behind him.
Steppenwolf stepped through, disappearing as the portal sealed itself.
Daniel pushed himself out of the shattered wall.
"…Fuck."
He glanced down.
His shirt had been burned away across the chest, exposing a deep wound with blood slowly running down his torso.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he frowned.
"What the hell was that energy?"
"It almost tore my entire body apart."
*****
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